First came the complaint from Ryanair about a misleading Easyjet advert (see previous blog) then came the case against Ryanair from Easyjet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou claiming libel.

Today, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary was forced to unreservedly apologise to the Easyjet founder for suggesting he was a liar in a series of print adverts. He tagged a photograph of Stelios with a long nose like Pinocchio with the line “Easyjet’s-Mr.Late Again”.

In a High Court hearing today, Mr O’Leary’s solicitors agreed to withdraw the allegations. To make amends, Ryanair have printed a half-page apology in the Daily Telegraph and Guardian newspapers, where the adverts had appeared. O’Leary was also forced to pay out $77,000, which Stelios has decided to donate to charity.

“It is not very often that someone as arrogant and as powerful as O’Leary is forced to apologise to someone else in public and in writing,” Stelios said in a statement.

“I took this legal action to protect my reputation. I am not a liar and that statement was libelous.”

“I would like to dedicate this little victory to all those members of the travelling public who have suffered verbal abuse and hidden extras at the hands of O’Leary,” Stelios said.